Magellan,
FERDINANDO, navigator; born in Oporto, Portugal, in 1470;
after serving long in the Portuguese navy, went to Spain and
persuaded the authorities there that the Molucca or Spice Islands,
which they coveted, might be reached by sailing westward, and so
come within the pope's gift of lands westward of the Azores.
Magellan was sent in that direction with five ships and 236 men.
After touching at Brazil, he went down the coast and discovered and
passed through the strait which bears his name, calling it the
Strait of the Eleven Thousand Virgins. He passed into the South Sea,
discovered by Nunez(see CABEZA DE VACA),
and, on account of its general calmness, he named it the Pacific
Ocean. Crossing it, he discovered the Philippine Islands, eastward
of the China Sea, where he was killed by the natives, April 17,
1521. The expedition was reduced to one ship. In that the survivors
sailed across the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope, and
reached Spain, September 6, 1521. That ship, the Victoria, was the
first that ever circumnavigated the globe.